RANGERS won the battle but Hibs played well enough to fancy their chances of winning the war that will be waged for a place in the Premiership this season.

Ally McCoist’s men edged this Petrofac Training Cup first-round clash thanks to Nicky Law’s extra-time goal but the match only swung Rangers’ way after Danny Handling was sent off with 11 minutes of regulation time left.

Handling had deservedly levelled Lewis Macleod’s early goal and Alan Stubbs’s team were bossing the contest to the consternation of the vast majority of the 18,138 in attendance.

But Rangers, who started and finished well but were outpassed for most of the second half, made the extra man count to set up a reunion with Barry Ferguson, who will bring his Clyde side to Ibrox in a fortnight for the second round.

The big screens were announcing that “old rivalries will soon be renewed” as they tried to plug season tickets.

That might have been referring to the possibility of being one campaign away from the top flight but in the here and now, these two clubs were renewing acquaintances for the first time since January 28, 2012 and since that 4-0 win for Rangers everything had changed.

Both are now in the Championship, Rangers have climbed up from the depths while Hibs have only recently plunged from the top deck of our game.

Only four players from that meeting – Lee McCulloch, Lee Wallace, Paul Hanlon and Sam Stanton – were involved last night, which was a step into the unknown for both teams.

Rangers also had changes from last season but in their case it was turning back time to find a successful future. Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd were back in blue as a strike partnership at the head of a 3-5-2 formation which featured Marius Zaliukas and Darren McGregor making their competitive debuts.

Ibrox hosted the Rugby Sevens during the Commonwealth Games and before kick-off one of the stars of the sporting extravaganza, Lynsey Sharp, was given a guard of honour by the players and a rousing reception from the stands as she showed off her 800m silver medal.

McCoist’s men started on the front foot with Miller buzzing around Boyd as if they’d never been apart but Hibs gradually got a foothold, with Alex Harris exploiting the space behind wing-back Lee Wallace.

The Easter Road men looked much more comfortable than the side that surrendered their Premiership status so meekly a few months ago, but that didn’t stop them falling behind to a superb finish by Macleod in 13 minutes.

Hibs appeared to have dealt with a corner when it fell to Wallace on the left. His delivery to the back post cleared everyone but fell to the onrushing Macleod, whose first-time volley from just inside the box blurred low past Mark Oxley’s right hand.

Boyd showed he’d lost none of his finishing instinct six minutes later, burying a shot from the edge of the box but referee John Beaton had adjudged the striker to have backed into Jordon Forster before getting the shot away.

Hibs remained lively and would have levelled after half an hour but for the slightest of head flicks from McGregor that diverted the ball away from Farid El Alagui, who was ready to pounce on a Harris cross.

Hibs ended the first half on the front foot and came out for the second period in the same fashion. Their movement and passing was easy on the eye without much penetration but they should have scored five minutes after the restart when Stanton sprung the offside trap to latch on to a Liam Craig pass.

Left one-on-one with the keeper, Stanton scuffed his shot. It was a major let-off for the home side, who were becoming more ragged by the minute, so it was no surprise when Hibs’ pressure paid off on the hour.

A ball played into the box broke off Ian Black’s chest and into the path of Handling, who made no mistake and buried the shot past Cammy Bell.

El Alagui then missed a glorious chance with a volley that sailed over. McCoist had to do something to alter the shape of the game and he replaced McGregor with David Templeton, reverting to a 4-4-2. But Hibs scorned another chance when El Alagui headed over a Harris corner from six yards.

Stubbs’s team looked far more likely to grab a second than their hosts, but a Black piledriver from distance wasn’t too far away and lifted the home fans.

Hibs fancied this, though, and Paul Heffernan was thrown on to join El Alagui up front in place of Stanton.

But with 11 minutes left, the pendulum appeared to swing in favour of Rangers when Handling was shown a straight red card for a foul on Templeton.

It took everyone by surprise as the challenge didn’t appear to merit any more than a booking but Gers had the numerical advantage. Hibs survived a big claim for a penalty when Templeton was sent flying by a David Gray tackle on the edge of the box but Beaton appeared to get it right by waving play on.

But two minutes from time, Boyd was given the chance he’d waited all night for. A low cross from Wallace saw him dart to the near post ahead of Oxley, but although he got the touch, he stabbed wide and extra time beckoned.

Rangers were convinced they should have had a penalty five minutes into the extra period when Forster appeared to go through the back of Wallace as he tried to get on the end of a Macleod cross-shot that had eluded Boyd. This one looked a strong claim but the ref waved play on.

The extra man was telling and Hibs were forced deeper and deeper.

Finally, in the 100th minute, they cracked. Wallace cut the ball back for Law to aim a curling shot away from Oxley’s left hand and Rangers were through.